The filling is the whole recipe. Pork is seasoned, then beaten in one direction while spiced water goes in a spoonful at a time, so the meat holds liquid instead of releasing it during steaming. Half the scallion is fried in oil, half goes in raw, which gives both a cooked sweetness and a sharp green note.
Chinese · Main
Scallion Pork Buns With a Loose, Juicy Filling
A wet pork filling loosened with spiced water and packed with scallion, wrapped in a risen dough and steamed. The water is what keeps the centre soupy.
- Prep120 min
- Cook25 min
- Serves12
- LevelMedium
Ingredients
| 1000 g | plain flour |
| 10 g | instant yeast , the source omits it, but a kilo of flour needs it |
| 1000 g | pork mince |
| 30 ml | corn germ oil |
| 1 | egg |
| 2 tbsp | light soy sauce |
| 1 tbsp | dark soy sauce |
| 2 tbsp | Shaoxing wine |
| 6 g | chicken bouillon |
| 5 g | sugar |
| 300 g | scallion greens , finely chopped |
| 150 ml | spiced water , simmered with ginger, scallion, star anise and Sichuan pepper, then strained |
Method
- Simmer the aromatics for the spiced water for 10 minutes, strain and cool.
- Heat the corn germ oil until it shimmers, take it off the heat and pour it over half the chopped scallion so it wilts without browning.
- Mix the pork with the salt, sugar, soy sauces, bouillon and egg.
- Add the spiced water in four or five additions, stirring hard in one direction after each, until the meat looks glossy and holds together.
- Fold in both the oiled scallion and the raw scallion.
- Make a soft dough with the flour, yeast and enough warm water to bring it together, then let it double, about an hour.
- Roll the dough into a log, cut it into pieces, flatten each one and put a spoonful of filling in the centre. Pleat and seal.
- Rest the buns for 20 minutes, then steam over boiling water for 20 minutes and leave the lid on for 3 minutes before opening.
Notes
- Salt the filling just before wrapping; early salting draws water back out.
- Steam in a single layer with space between buns, since they expand by half.
Ratios and technique checked against 瑞雪兆丰年💖💖 on Douguo (胚芽油润汁大葱肉包). The method here is written by Stellaok and the illustration is ours; no text or photograph from the source is reproduced.